This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Province halts Toronto Catholic board's controversial land deal

The province has stepped in to block a controversial North York redevelopment that would have housed a Catholic high school and the storied Columbus Centre under one roof.

The $70-million proposal, which sparked months of protests and public feuding in the neighbourhood, was a joint venture between the Toronto Catholic board and Villa Charities Inc., which runs the Columbus Centre.

Opponents to a redevelopment that would have housed a Catholic high school and the Columbus Centre under one roof worried the proposal would mean the demolition of the centre. (Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star file photo)

Opposition reached a fever pitch within months of the announcement last spring among those fearing it would mean the demolition of the centre, built 40 years ago by the Italian community and considered a vital part of its history.

But the province, which allocated $32.8 million to the Catholic board in 2011 for a new high school, drew the line on Wednesday, saying it won’t provide funds for any project that will destroy the Columbus Centre.

In a letter Wednesday, Education Minister Indira Naidoo-Harris told the Toronto Catholic District School Board to “consider a new path forward for this project.”

Article Continued Below

Some opponents of the development, while welcoming the province’s move, said it’s only one step toward saving the Columbus Centre, which is in need of repair and is in a prime location at Dufferin and Lawrence Aves. for hungry condo developers.

“Our objective is to keep the Columbus Centre open, achieve heritage status for the building and to return the building to the fine state of repair that it was in five years ago before this distractions disrupted its management from their responsibilities to the community,” said Ian Duncan MacDonald, co-founder of a grassroots group that has fought to save the centre.

The province’s move comes a week before Catholic trustees had planned to hear presentations from the public about the redevelopment before voting on it. MacDonald said his group still intends to appear at meeting to object.

One thing all sides seem to agree on is that the current situation has been anything but a win for students and families, who have been waiting years for new secondary and elementary school facilities and still see no solution on the horizon.

“For all the talk from people who were against it, the question is ‘now what?’ ” says Mario Nigro, a father of three who has lived in the neighbourhood for 40 years.

“Nobody has an answer.”

He says the question also applies to the future of the Columbus Centre, which needs money for significant upgrades.

Article Continued Below

Under the proposal, the aging Dante Alighieri High School would have been part of the new joint facility with the centre, and its existing site rebuilt to replace the aging Regina Mundi Catholic Elementary School.

“This whole thing has done nothing but hurt kids,” says local MPP Mike Colle, who had lobbied for provincial funds for the high school to address overcrowding and disrepair in 2011, and has been pressing his government to intervene in the redevelopment plans.

The school board must “stop playing developer,” he said Thursday.

It has been “sitting on $32 million for seven years” when students could have been in new classrooms by now if that had promptly proceeded with building a new school, he added.

Catholic board trustee Maria Rizzo, who had supported the redevelopment project, says the community is “rightfully upset” that after years of languishing, the future of the schools is still unclear.

Badly-needed repairs of roofs, windows and boilers had been put on hold and she said the uncertain situation has contributed to declining enrolment at Dante Alighieri, which has 900 students, down from 1,300 a few years ago.

The Catholic Board said in a statement that its joint project with Villa Charities was based on “strong cultural bonds” and that there was no plan to demolish the centre.

“Although we are concerned that the Minister of Education is undermining the autonomy of the school board, the board respects that decisions need to satisfy both political needs and community values.”

More from The Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com